An Extra Nudge
by fantasticality
Summary: It was funny how something inanimate could give them the extra nudge they needed.
1. Rain

**_I do not own Shugo Chara! and it's affiliates._**

**Since my friend, PrincessSerenity2630 is obsessed with Kuukamu, I figured I'd give it a try. It's my first time writing it, so I apologize if they seem a bit OOC. Kuukai isn't my best writing character. **

**And a special thank you to my friend, pyrolyn-776 for thinking of the title!**

**Hope you like it!**

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A rain drop fell on her pink head of hair. Followed by another. Then another. And then dozens more. Before she knew it, it was pouring rain. She ran as fast as she could to get home, attempting to stay as dry as possible. Knowing that she would still be soaked to the bone even if she ran home, Amu decided to stay out and enjoy the rain. Like most showers during late spring, the rain was warm, and walking through it felt as though you were taking a warm shower with clothes on. As unappealing as that would sound to most people, Amu enjoyed the experience immensely.

The Guardian twirled around lightly in the rain, basking in the feel of the warm crystalline drops falling onto her skin, soaking into her tank top and capris. Sighing, Amu reveled in the serenity of the feeling, enjoying the peace and quiet to its fullest. Since her charas were all at home, playing dress up in Ami's doll clothes, she had the day to herself.

_And since it's a weekend, it means that I have no Guardian business today, _she thought happily.

"Hinamori?" a voice called from behind her. Kuukai. Amu hadn't even heard him walk up to her. "What are you doing out here?" he asked.

She turned around, taking in his soaked appearance. Shrugging, she replied, "Nothing much. Just figured I'd take advantage that Ran, Miki, and Suu are home." He nodded. "What are you doing here?" Amu added questioningly.

"Same, I guess. Daichi's with Kiseki, so I have the day to myself."

Giggling, she asked, "Are they playing, "Conquer the World" again?"

"Yeah." Kuukai grimaced. "Doubt Daichi's gonna like that."

Amu gave him a nod in agreement, letting her eyes run over his soaked body. His clothes clung to his nicely toned body, his damp brown hair sticking to his forehead above his sparkling emerald eyes. She felt my cheeks heat up slightly when she realized she was checking him out.

Kuukai noticed her faint blush. "Hinamori, you alright?" he asked, placing a hand on her forehead. "You're cheeks are red."

Her flush deepened at the contact. "I'm fine, Kuukai. Perfectly fine," she reassured, shivering slightly as a cool breeze passed them. Kuukai didn't even seem to notice

He frowned. "Hinamori, you're shaking. Do you want to go home? I'll walk you there." Kuukai offered.

"No! I'm fine! I don't want to go home just yet," the shivering person protested, rubbing her arms for more warmth. She looked down at the ground, slightly embarrassed at her childish remark.

"Then let's go to mine." Her head shot up at hearing his proposal.

"I-it's fine. I'll just stay out here for a bit longer. Or go to a store or something and wait out the rain."

Kuukai shook his head. "Nope! We'll go to mine!" he stated adamantly. "It's closer than at any store, so you won't get sick! My parents won't mind. They're out at some mall right now, so it'll be fine. 'Sides," he added with a wink, "I don't want to do your Guardian work for you when you do get sick."

Chuckling softly at his remark, she nodded. "Okay."

"Yosh! Let's go, Hinamori!" her friend exclaimed, taking her small hand in his. She blushed once more at his touch. "If I do this, you won't get lost." he reasoned.

Abruptly taking off in a sprint, Amu could barely keep up with him. He led her through a neighborhood, taking many sharp twists and turns. Several sharp turns and near-falls later, they reached house. It was still raining when they arrived.

Opening the door, Kuukai motioned for her to come in. When she entered, he shut it with a gentle click, kicking off his shoes. He called for his parents. At the lack of response, Kuukai gave her a shrug before walking to his kitchen. After taking off her shoes, she entered his house timidly, examining his humble abode. It was a modest home, the stylish exterior screaming, "chic and cozy!" at you. Whoever designed it had very good taste.

"Hinamori! My room's up here!" Kuukai called from the top of the stairs, a water bottle hanging limply in his hand. She followed him, careful not to drip a puddle in every place she stepped. He had waited until she reached the stairs before heading to his room, motioning for Amu to follow him. The pink headed girl looked around the long hallway, examining the paintings that hung on the walls. Sometime during her daze, Kuukai had shrugged off his shirt. "Hinamori, come on. We gotta change!"

Blushing at his shirtless state, she stuttered a small "okay," before following him into his room.

Despite the neatness of the majority of his house, Kuukai's room seemed as though a cyclone had blown through the area. Clothes, books, and other various trinkets were scattered everywhere. For a moment, she nearly lost sight of Kuukai when he was crouched over, digging through his drawer.

He pulled out a pair of shorts and a shirt. After taking a delicate sniff, deeming that they were clean, he handed them to her. "You can wear these until your clothes dry out." The soccer player gave her a sheepish smile. "Our dryer's on the fritz, so I can't dry our clothes out."

Amu laughed. "It's fine. I'll just wear these." Noticing that he was still staring at her, she blushed for the third time that day (_Damn, what is with me!? _Amu thought violently.). "K-Kuukai. I kind of need to change…" she trailed off, her golden irises fixed on him in an expecting gaze.

Kuukai blinked once before letting out a loud, "Oh!" and turning around abruptly. Even with his (still shirtless) back towards her, she could still see the massive blush on his tanned cheeks. "S-sorry." he muttered.

"I-it's fine." Amu replied, turning around to change into his clothes. When she was finished, she asked him, "Kuukai? Aren't you going to change?"

He mumbled a brief question, asking if she was decent or not. Amu giggled at his modesty before agreeing. He whipped his head around, remnants of his previous blush still on his face. "I was going to. But I figured I'd wait for you to change first," he answered, handing her a bag for her clothes that had mysteriously materialized in his hand. "You can wait downstairs while I change."

The Joker nodded, accepting the bag before following his directions. Once out of his sight, she took an inconspicuous sniff of his shirt. It smelled like him. A soothing scent of grass and fresh rain with a hint of sweat. Unsatisfied with the small sniff, she took a deep whiff of it, walking in a daze the rest of the small trip.

When Kuukai came down several minutes later, he was carrying a towel on his arm and one around his neck. He tossed the one on his arm – a pink and fluffy one – to Amu. Catching it, she wrung out her hair (It was the same shade as the towel!), thoroughly toweling it afterwards. When she looked up, Kuukai was doing the same thing.

Once he was finished, he looked at her and let out a loud laugh. "Your hair!" Kuukai choked out, pointing a long finger towards her head.

Amu glanced towards her reflection in their television. She was appalled at her appearance. Her hair was sticking out all over the place, frizzing out and puffing up.

"I… I have an AFRO!" Amu's expression turned from appalled, to humiliated, before returning to the former.

At this, Kuukai nearly doubled over in hysterics at her mortified expression. Wiping away tears of mirth from his eyes, he walked over and ruffled her hair, further messing it up. "Don't be so concerned about your hair. It's pretty no matter how it looks." The last sentence seemed to have slipped out before Kuukai could stop it. His green eyes widened in embarrassment before a blush stained his cheeks once more.

She blushed (_AGAIN!?_) at his compliment as an awkward silence took over them, both kids blushing like idiots. A low growl emitting from Kuukai's stomach cut through the silence, surprising the both of them. He gave her a sheepish grin before saying, "I'm hungry. Want anything to eat?"

Giving a noncommittal shrug, Amu accepted the offer, following him to the kitchen. She snickered when she saw Kuukai struggling with a pan. Taking the pan from his hands, she placed it back into the open cabinet and taking out a small pot. "Is ramen alright?" she asked. When he agreed, she filled the pot with water before putting it on his stove, turning it on to begin boiling the water. "Where's the ramen?"

He pointed to the top cabinet. "Second shelf." Kuukai informed her. She nodded. Opening the cabinet, Amu found that she couldn't reach the food. Chuckling at her misfortune, Kuukai plucked two packs of instant ramen off of the shelf before handing them to his friend. "I didn't know you were that short, Hinamori."

Sending him a mock glare, she sniffed, "I happen to be an average height. You're just freakishly tall."

He chuckled at her retort before ushering her to return to cooking.

After adding the seasoning for the broth, she stirred the pot gently. "Isn't the senpai supposed to cook for their kohai? Not the other way around?" Amu joked.

Kuukai stuck her tongue out at her. "Whatever," was all he could manage before chortling good-naturedly.

Deciding that their meal was done, Amu ordered her friend to get her two plates and chopsticks before pouring half the noodles into each bowl. Sitting down at Kuukai's kitchen table, her bowl in hand, she began to slurp them up enthusiastically, Kuukai following with equivalent vigor.

A mere ten minutes later, they finished their meal, eating the last of the contents at the exact same time. They spent another several minutes arguing about who finished first before agreeing that they were too engrossed in their food to accurately determine the winner (since when had it become a race?).

Kuukai briefly glanced out the door. "Looks like it stopped raining," he remarked. "Want me to walk you home, Hinamori?"

Amu shook her head. "Nah, I'll be okay," she told him, pulling on her shoes. "But thanks for letting me wait out the rain here."

"You're welcome here any time." Kuukai quipped cheerfully.

Gripping the bag her clothes were in tightly, she looked up at Kuukai before giving him a quick peck on his cheek. In embarrassment, she ran out his door, not bothering to hear his response. Before she could reach his front gate, Amu felt a strong hand catch her wrist. Turning to face her captor, she looked into a pair of smoldering jade eyes. The girl let out a small gasp when she felt Kuukai place her a gentle kiss on her lips. He pulled back all too soon and he rested his forehead on hers.

"I really do mean it," Kuukai murmured. "You're welcome with me any time."

Amu sent him a heartfelt smile, despite her current appearance as a relative of the tomato. "Thanks, Kuukai," she whispered sincerely.

"Ne, Hinamori?"

She hummed inquisitively.

"Can I call you Amu?"

Pondering his request momentarily, she let out a soft, "Of course."

Kuukai pulled away from her, still grasping her arm, grinning brightly. "Arigatou, Amu!"

Giggling at his fervor, she said, "No problem." Amu pulled herself out of his grasp. "I really do have to go, though. It's getting late," she commented. Taking a few steps towards her home, she paused before turning back to Kuukai. Waving goodbye, Amu called, "Ja ne, Kuukai! See you at school!"

He returned the wave, beaming at her. "See you there, Amu!"

Giving one last wave, Amu turned and ran home. She slowed as she felt several rain drops fall onto her (still messy) hair once more. Clutching her clothes to her chest, Amu sprinted the rest of the distance to her house. When she reached her home, Amu turned to look out the door one last time before entering.

_I love the rain…_

It was funny how something inanimate could give them the extra nudge they needed.

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**My first Kuukamu! Heh, I hope you liked it. **

**Reviews are greatly appreciated!**


	2. Hats

**Heh, I figured to make this story a series of oneshots, all based on the summary. And they're all gonna be Kuukaimu, so I hope you like that pairing. :)**

**Hope you like this oneshot!**

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Amu let out a miserable groan. Her golden eyes flicked towards her reflection in the mirror for what seemed like the thousandth time that minute. They narrowed at her cotton candy hair. After an unfortunate accident with meiji, chocolate chips, and a hot glue gun, her hair was cut short, reaching just past her ears. She hated her current appearance.

Tugging at a short lock of pink hair, she examined her reflection. Tufts of hair stuck up in various directions without the extra locks to weigh it down. In other words: permanent bed head.

"Amu-chan! You better hurry or you'll be late!" her mother called from downstairs.

Letting out another groan, Amu grabbed a beanie sitting on her chair before running downstairs and out the door to school.

* * *

The day was fairly uneventful. No one had approached her about the beanie, as they were intimidated by Amu's 'cool and spicy' façade. Only Nikaidou-sensei had inquired about the hat. But she had only responded with an icy glare, causing him to drop the topic.

Walking home from school, deep in thought, Amu barely heard Kuukai calling after her.

"Hinamori!" he called, running towards her. "Wait up!"

Slowing her pace to let her friend catch up, Amu asked, "You need something, Kuukai?" When he caught up, they began walking together.

"Nah," he said, "I just wanted to know if you were okay. You seemed kinda down earlier."

Blushing slightly at his concern, she replied, "I'm fine. You don't need to worry."

Kuukai grinned at her. "That's good." He paused and looked down on her. "What's with the hat, Hinamori?"

"N-nothing. Forget about it."

"Nothing? Then why were you shielded around it the entire day?" he retorted, frowning.

Amu colored. "B-because I didn't want it to come off at school."

"We're not at school now. Take it off." Kuukai demanded.

"Why?" she whined.

He thought for a moment before responding, "Because if you keep worrying about your appearance, then you'll never amount to much in life. You shouldn't worry too much about how you look. You're already pretty." Kuukai said this nonchalantly, giving no notice to compliment he uttered.

Her flush grew deeper at his compliment. "B-because I don't want to."

Emerald eyes gave her a blank look, before a large tanned hand grasped the beanie, pulling it off Amu's head, exposing her messy pink hair.

"Mou! Kuukai! Give me my hat back!" she cried, reaching for the beanie, held high above her head. "Kuukai!" He merely shook his head in a response, tossing into a nearby trash can. Giving up, Amu glared at him, pouting. "You're mean."

Kuukai let out a snort of laughter. Looking down at her, he said, "Hinamori, you look nice with your hair like this. That hat just ruins your image."

Amu looked down at the ground and mumbled, "No, I don't. I look awful." She let out a small gasp in shock when she felt Kuukai's hand grasp hers and start leading her away. They walked hand in hand, Amu still staring at the ground, for several minutes before Kuukai gripped her shoulders and brought her in front of him.

"Look, Hinamori," he demanded, pointing at a glistening fountain in front of him. "Look at your reflection and tell me what you see."

She obeyed. "I see me with a very bad haircut."

"That's not what I see." Kuukai told her. "I see a beautiful girl with even prettier hair." When Amu opened her mouth to object, he stopped her by holding up his hand. "Hinamori, you're really pretty as it is. Your hair isn't going to take away from that."

The Joker flushed crimson at his compliments and looked down at the ground. "T-that's not true. I'm not pretty. It's not true…"

"It is too!" Kuukai protested. "You're really pretty! And you're really nice too! That's why I like you!" As soon as the words left his mouth, Kuukai instantly colored.

"Y-you like me?" Her blush deepened. She looked up at Kuukai and saw that he resembled a tomato. _A very handsome tomato, _Amu noted.

Said handsome tomato mumbled a small affirmative before turning away.

"K-Kuukai?" When he turned to look at her, Amu continued, "Thanks." She stood up as high as she could and quickly kissed his lips before pulling abruptly pulling away. She dashed in the opposite direction, leaving a grinning Kuukai in her leave.

_Maybe my hair isn't such a bad thing, after all…_

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Heh, I hope you liked this one. And feel free to give me requests of inanimate objects that you'd like a fic to be based on. :) Suggestions and requests are welcome.

**Reviews are greatly appreciated!**


	3. Casts

**Heh, I hope you like this chapter. It's a pretty cheesy one, so I'm not sure if you'll like it or not...**

**Hope you don't cringe!**

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Amu opened her eyes slowly, taking in the room around her. Everything was stark white, a monotonous feel to the small room. The air smelled weird. Where exactly was she?

She glanced down at herself, attempting to stretch her stiff neck. Hearing a distinct crack, she relaxed slightly, the ache in her neck subsiding. Scratching her side, Amu felt a sharp pain in her left arm. Looking down, she immediately saw the spotted hospital gown she was put into. The next thing that caught her eye was her cast reaching up from her hand to her elbow.

Her mom walked in nearly right afterwards. "Oh, Amu-chan!" she cried cheerfully, "You're up!"

"Up?" Amu asked. "How long have I been asleep?"

Midori Hinamori sat down on the chair next to her. "Almost two days," she said breezily. "But don't worry! You won't be behind. Your friend, that boy with the green eyes, dropped it all off for you." Her mother gestured to the large stack of books and papers on the table to the right of her bed. "It shouldn't be too hard."

Sending a half-hearted glare at her mother, Amu sighed, her voice slightly raspy from the lack of water. Licking her dry lips, Amu replied, "When can I get out?"

Midori sighed. "Not for a small while, I'm afraid. You had a pretty nasty break on your arm. It might take a while for it to heal enough for you to be discharged."

Amu immediately remembered the accident. An unfortunate collision with an X egg had resulted in her broken arm. _Luckily, Tadase-kun was able to purify it,_ she thought in relief.

"Amu-chan," her mother cooed softly, "is your arm alright? Are you in pain?"

She was surprised. Amu hadn't realized that she was grimacing. Shaking her head, Amu answered, "I'm fine, Mama. Just hurts a bit."

"Just as well, I'd like you to get a bit more sleep."

The girl complied with her mother's wishes, laying her head back down on her pillow. Shifting slightly to get comfortable, Amu's heavy eyelids closed before she sunk into a deep, albeit painful, sleep.

* * *

Nearly two weeks later, Amu had finally been released from the hospital. She had left glowing, happy to finally escape from the dreary place. Although the cast limited her range of movement severely limited her range of pain-free movement, the pink-haired girl was as giddy as ever to get back to school. Compared to the griping that she had done at the hospital, her parents were relieved to see that Amu had stopped complaining.

Upon arriving, the injured pre-teen was nearly trampled by her fans. "Cool and spicy Hinamori is back!" they had squealed. Irritated, she rolled her eyes and shoved her way out of the crowd, ignoring the pain coming from her arm.

"Amu-chan!" called a feminine voice. Turning around, Amu saw Nadeshiko and the rest of the Guardians running towards her. She slowed to allow them to catch up.

"Yo, Hinamori. How's your arm?" Kuukai asked, giving her an affectionate ruffle of her hair.

She shrugged. "S'okay, I guess. It doesn't hurt too much."

"Demo, Amu-chii! Yaya saw what happened when you broke it. Doesn't it hurt?" Amu gave Yaya the same response.

"Hinamori-san," Tadase interrupted, gesturing towards the clock tower. "We had better get to class."

Green and golden eyes widened simultaneously before exclaiming, "Crap!" and running off frantically. It was an amusing sight, to see Kuukai and Amu fight their way through the crowd of fans. A shrill cry of, "My face!" pierced the air before the two disappeared into the crowd. Everything grew silent as everyone turned to glance at the person. Saaya Yamabuki lay in a fetal position on the ground, cradling her face preciously, sobbing a mantra of, "My beautiful, beautiful face."

Kuukai shot a glance at Amu and shrugged. He quickly grabbed her small (uninjured) hand and dragged her through the crowd, managing to escape their fans, those of who were too preoccupied with laughing at the superficial girl.

* * *

Amu sighed happily, stretching back onto her chair. The day had gone fairly well. Nikaidou-sensei hadn't assigned any homework that morning, and no one had pestered her about her cast. Unfortunately, an opportunity was currently open.

Yaya came bouncing over, Kuukai following her, an amused grin on his face. "Amu-chii! Can Yaya sign your cast?" the hyperactive girl asked, placing her hands on Amu's desk and jumping up and down. Kuukai pulled up a chair and sat down, reclining in it and closing his eyes.

Giggling, she replied, "Gomen, Yaya-chan. I don't have a marker."

"I have one." Kuukai offered, pulling a permanent marker out of his pocket. He lazily opened an eyelid to glance at Amu. "Go ahead and use it."

Having no objections to using the marker, Yaya snatched the pen out of his hand, hastily scribbling her name and a small note on Amu's cast. This act, of course, attracted her many fans, all of them requesting a spot on her cast to sign. Allowing only a small amount of them to sign, Amu soon found her cast nearly black with ink. Glancing at the clock, she fought the urge to hit her head on her desk. Lunch wasn't even over and her cast was already ruined.

Tadase, Nadeshiko, and Yaya had already signed her cast and were now chatting amiably amongst themselves. Kuukai stayed behind, still sitting back on his chair, his eyes closed. Several second later, they slowly opened, revealing a glowing emerald color, contrasting wonderfully with his dark skin.

He gave her a grin. "Ne, Hinamori. Can I sign?" She nodded handing him the pen and holding out her arm. Accepting it, he looked around for a blank spot on the cast. After finding one, Kuukai busied himself with writing a small note on it, gripping her arm gently to support it. When Amu attempted to look, he had covered his note with his hand, stating that he wasn't finished. Once he was, Kuukai stood up straight, capping the pen with a small 'snap!' and walked away, the bell signaling the end of lunch ringing immediately afterwards. "Ja ne, Hinamori!" the Jack called over his shoulder, running to class.

After waving goodbye to him and the other Guardians, Amu glanced at what Kuukai had written.

'_I really like you Hinamori. Do you want to go out sometime?'_

Amu didn't complain once the rest of the time she had her cast on.

* * *

**-winces- Now that was just a really cheesy confession. I couldn't think of anything better to have Kuukai say. He's only in 6th grade in this fic, and contrary to Tadase, I highly doubt that he was able to come up with a decent confession. Besides. Not like I'd know. I've only been asked out a couple of times. T.T LOL, anyways, I'm sorry if the confession's really crappy this chapter.**

**Oh, and like before, suggestions are always welcome!**

**Reviews are greatly appreciated!**


	4. Skateboards

**_I don't own Shugo Chara! and it's affiliates._**

**-sigh- These chapters are just becoming a bunch of drabbles... But I hope you like it. :)**

* * *

"Watch out, Hinamori!"

Amu abruptly turned her head only to find Kuukai speeding towards her on his skateboard, unable to stop. She attempted to jump out of the way. Unfortunately, Kuukai lost his balance on his skateboard and fell off.

On top of Amu.

"Kuukai!" Amu whined, struggling to get out from under him. "Get off!"

He complied and helped Amu up. "Gomen, Hinamori." He gave her a sheepish grin. "I lost control of the skateboard."

Amu waved his apology away. Brushing off her skirt, she asked, "What's with you today? That usually doesn't happen."

He shrugged. "It just seems harder today, I guess."

Rolling her eyes, Amu replied, "Hard? Skateboarding doesn't seem that difficult."

"You wanna try?" Kuukai challenged, holding up his skateboard in front of her. "And no chara changes with Ran," he added.

She took it from his hands, eyeing it warily. "Sure."

When she mounted it, Kuukai stifled a laugh. Amu's arms were flailing frantically, despite the fact that she was three inches off the ground. Not moving. "Harder than it looks, ne?"

"Oh, you're enjoying this, aren't you?" Amu shot at him. _Stupid skateboard…_

He smirked. "Very much."

Glaring at him, she began an attempt to move from her spot. As she took a timid step, pushing herself forward, she found herself flying backwards, the board shooting out from under her. Amu braced herself for the impact, but only felt a soft cushion. She looked up and found herself staring into worried emerald eyes. _Kuukai helped me…_

Kuukai's brows were creased in concern. "You okay, Hinamori?"

"Y-yeah! Why wouldn't I be?" she cried, blushing at her position. The boy's arms were wrapped around her slender waist, preventing her from hitting the ground. The situation was embarrassing, but Amu couldn't help but enjoy the situation. Unfortunately, if anyone were to see them, it would be fairly embarrassing. "K-Kuukai?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you let go now?"

Bright green eyes blinked once before widening in realization. "Gomen, Hinamori!" He immediately let go of her waist, leading her bottom to come in contact with the concrete.

She let out a groan of pain, getting up and rubbing her sore bottom. "Thanks a lot, Kuukai."

Said person began apologizing profusely, checking her over for any more injuries he or his skateboard might have caused.

Amu merely waved off his words once more. "I'm perfectly fine, Kuukai. My butt's a bit sore but it's nothing I can't deal with."

Kuukai sighed. "Alright." He glanced at his watch. "Chikuso! I'll be late for my soccer lesson!"

Giggling at his absentminded act, she waved Kuukai goodbye before walking away. She shook her head affectionately. "He's such an airhead sometimes," she mused aloud. _A very hot airhead…_

Amu felt her cheeks heat up when she recalled the feeling of his arms around her waist.

Maybe his skateboard wasn't so stupid after all…

* * *

**This was exceedingly short, so I apologize about the length of it. But I had a lot of schoolwork these past couple of weeks so I wasn't able to get to it quick enough. I'll make it up to you guys next chapter, ne?**

**Reviews are greatly appreciated!**


	5. Necklaces

**I am SO SORRY! It took me way too long to update this, but with school, and my snow days, and my Christmas presents, I just forgot about this! Well, this is, actually, a Christmas present...**

**Dedication: To one of my best friends on this site, PrincessSerenity2630, this is for you! Thanks for always making me giggle and having someone to discuss anime with. ^^**

* * *

"Amu, slow down!" Kuukai cried, struggling to keep up with his girlfriend. But seeing as he was carrying six different bags, all of them filled to the brim, his task was proving rather difficult, and Amu wasn't making it any easier.

"No way!" Amu called back to him, still keeping up with her pace. "I need to get to all the sales today for my Christmas shopping! Otherwise, my savings will be gone before I know it!"

He groaned, adjusting the straps of the bags on his shoulders. Many males who passed him gave him empathetic looks.

_Stupid shopping, stupid bags, stupid sales, _Kuukai groused. _But… she does look happy. _He stared at the excited expression the pink-haired teen wore on her face. _I guess I can put up with it for a bit._

Turning back to look at her slowing boyfriend, Amu shouted, "Come on, Kuukai! There's a sale at that one lingerie store! I need to get stuff for my cousin there!"

"Alright," he agreed slowly, panting. _But on the other hand, going into an underwear store might scar me for life…_

As the couple walked down the isle of yet another clothing store, Kuukai suddenly spoke up, "Amu, I need to buy something real fast. Can I go?"

"Sure," the Joker replied offhandedly. She waved her hand dismissively.

He immediately dropped all the bags and sped off.

It now just occurred to Amu that she was now stuck with lugging all her bags around. _Thanks a lot, Kuukai. Way to stick with your girlfriend._

* * *

Kuukai entered the jewelry store, blissfully unaware of all the people staring curiously at the young boy who had entered the high class shop. He eyed each necklace with severe scrutiny, not once paying attention to the price tag. A silver necklace caught his eye. The thin silver chain, the small heart-shaped pendant with the word, "Ai" engraved on it was perfect for Amu. Kuukai's boyish face lit up, grinning happily.

"This is perfect!" he exclaimed, searching wildly for the manager. As a man approached him, Kuukai hurriedly began asking if he could buy the item.

"Son, I'm not an employee. I'm here to shop," the man told him, looking somewhat uncomfortable. Kuukai guessed he wasn't used to working with teenagers.

"Oh." Emerald eyes looked apologetic as a sheepish grin made its way up onto his face. "Sorry, then."

The man chuckled and gave Kuukai an understanding smile. "Don't worry about it. Just make sure your girlfriend likes your present!"

Kuukai blushed slightly, and nodded, rapidly turning around to find a real employee. When he found one, he sighed in relief.

"Yes?" the woman asked curtly, cocking up a slender eyebrow. "Did you need something?"

He nodded vigorously. "Yes, I'd like to purchase"—the Jack led the employee to the necklace he wanted—"this necklace."

The woman nodded slowly. Her eyes softened slightly as she chuckled. "For your girlfriend?" she assumed, unusual purple irises sparkling.

"Hai!"

"Well, then," the woman began, glancing at the price tag, "that'll be 9,600 yen." When Kuukai's eyes nearly bulged out of his skull, she let out a tinkling laugh. "But for you, 6,000."

The green-eyed boy sighed in relief. "Thank you very much!"

The employee took out the necklace from the case and walked over to the cash register. She motioned for Kuukai to follow him. Complying with her request, he ambled over to her, taking his wallet out of his pocket.

"6,000 yen, please," she repeated, ringing up his gift. Somehow, in the short time it took when he had walked over to her, the woman had placed the necklace in a small, yet chic, box for him.

Fishing out the exact amount, he placed the money in front of the gift, picking up the box at the same time. He waited for her to finish counting his money and agree to let him leave before dashing out to find Amu.

"I hope your girlfriend likes your gift!" the woman called after him, grinning happily. _Kids these days, _she thought, shaking her head. _So mature, and so thoughtful. I wish my husband was like that._

* * *

"Amu!"

A pink head of hair whipped around, golden eyes blinking curiously at her boyfriend. What was he doing, and why was he running towards her? She wasn't going anywhere. Setting down the numerous bags in her hands, Amu waited patiently Kuukai.

"Amu," he repeated, catching up to her. "This is for you." Kuukai gently grasped Amu's hand and placed the small box in it.

She blinked inquisitively up at the teenage boy standing in front of her. "But this is a Christmas present, isn't it?" Amu asked, thrusting the box back at Kuukai. "I can't open it yet!"

"Just open it." Kuukai gave her an affectionate smile.

Slender eyebrows furrowed together slightly as the box was thrust back into the female's hands. The affect was instantaneous. The moment her gift was revealed, bullion eyes welled up with tears. Hugging her boyfriend tightly, Amu whispered her gratitude many times in his ear.

_Anything for you, Amu, _Kuukai thought as he reciprocated her hug. _The necklace was damn expensive, but your reaction was priceless._

**

* * *

**

Gahh, this was sooo corny. I hoped you liked it, though, Ari-chan. Was it okay?

**Note: 9,600 yen is approximately 80 dollars. 6,000 yen is around 50 dollars. **

**Reviews are greatly appreciated!**


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